Beaching gear



- Jan. 8, 1946. o. E. TORMOLLAN, JR I 2,392,786

BEA HING GEAR Filed Oct. 28, 1943 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 I N VEN TOR.

AT-TORN Y bwcN ELTORMOLLAN JR.

Jan. 1946- 0. E. TORMOLLAN, JR 2,392,786

BEACHING GEAR Filed Oct. 28, 1943 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIGURE 3 q INVENTOR. m OWEN E. TORMOLLAN JR.

ATTOR v Jan. 8, 1946 o. E. TORMOLLAN, JR 2,392,786

' BEACHING GEAR Filed Oct. 28, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIGURE 5 l2 5 4 47 52 ll IO l2.

III I 9 46 54 3 INVENTOR.

OWEN E. TQRMOLLAN JR;

5' ATTORNEY Patented 'Jan. 8, 1946 BEACHING' GEAR Owen E. v'liormollan, In, ,Raspeburg, Md.,, assignor to The Glenn L Martin Company, Middle Biver,.Md., a corporation of Maryland Application October 28, 1943, Serial No. "507,954

6. Claims.

This invention relates to a beaching gear for boat hulls and is particularly adapted for beachinglarge ilying boats;

The diificulty of handling a large flying boat to get it into the water and out of the water is well known. Many expedients, suchas a cradle which is slipped under the hull, have been tried, but the diifi'culty in getting such a cradle under a hull in the water and properly aligned with certain structures in the hull designed to 'bear the load when the cradle removes thehul-l from the water, should be obvious; and accounts for this method of handling such "flying boat hulls to be abandoned for a large craft.

By this invention, the beaching-gear for flying boat hulls is provided which is simple and compact in construction.

Another object of the invention is to provide a beac'hing gear which may-if necessary, be carried in the bomb bays of the craft;

Another object of the invention is the provision of a beaching gear-which may be floated into place and quicklyand easily secured to the craft.

Another object of theinvention is the provision of the braking mechanism on the beaching gear for the control of the craftwhen on shore.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a swiveling device on the beach'inggear to enable the beaching gear to turned with respect to the craft for lateral motion of the craft.

A further object of the invention-is the provision of a beaching gear secured to the hull at two points and means to align the *beaching gear after the first point of support has been secured with a second point of support.

Further and other objects will =become 'apparent from the description of the accompanying draw- 'ings which form a part of this disclosure and in which like numerals refer to like parts.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view, partly in section, showing the bombing gear attached to thehull-of the-craft.

Figure 2 is a front view of the breaching-gear attached to the hull of the craft. Figure 3 is a fragmentary perspective viewof a portion of the 'beaching gear showing the hydraulic brake and jack arrangement.

Figure 4 is a fragmentary perspective view showing one attachmentto the craft.

Figure 5 is a fragmentary section showing the other attachment to the craft. 7

' The beaching gear of this invention is generally illustrated in Figures I and-"'2. The beaching gear consists of an upper bracket generally indicated as -l' which isadapted to be attached to the hull 2 at two points. The secondportion of the'beaching gear is generally indicated as 3. 'Ihisportion affords a mount for the pneumatictired wheels '4. Portions l and 3 are pivoted I as shown in Figure 5 so that bracket I maybe generally illustrated in Figure 1.

securely fixed to the hull at two points and portion 13 carrying the wheels, may be turned relative thereto.

"It will be noted in Figure .1 that portion i .ol the poaching gear is generally 'nonnalto the chine line 5 o'f the hull '2 because the chine line at this point is generally parallel-to the normal water line of the craft afloat. The plate portion 6 oflnember 13 is generally parallel to the ground line because when the craft is out of the water, the tail beaching gear causes the hull to assume the attitude with respect to the ground line,

This description of the beaching gear attached to the hull afloat for supporting it ashore, is intended to explainthe out-of-line construction of the beaching gear illustrated in .Figure l. .t

Portion 1 is adapted to beattached to the hull at two points, This portion .or bracket consists of member I which'telescopes withomemberll, Member B is secured to :a casting 9.-which has an inturned portion or seat Ill having pad ll thereon to protect the finish on the hull. Pins 12, shown in Figure 5, register with two holes inthe chine of' the hull to secure seat "Ill when in place, from inadvertently being displaced laterally of. the chine. The lower portion of casting 9 is formed to pivot omendwith respectto,:portion 6 of membet -3. This lower portion will subsequently be described-in more :detail'. On telescoping memper 1, a fitting 13 is secured which supports the pivoting head and attaching bracket, consisting of a support TM rigidly secured to fitting 1.3-. At-. 'taching bracket 1'5 is pivoted on support .14 at pivot l fi. "Bracket I5 is formed with .slots H which are adapted .to engage levers l-8 extending from a support in member 19 in the side of the hull 2. Knobs 2 3. operate pins 2:! which pass through holes '22 when levers 1:8 are placed in slots H in bracket 15. Handle 23 is provided on bracket 15 to facilitate pulling this end of the beaching gear from its floating position in the water to engagement with levers I8. From a consideration of Figures 1 and o, it willbe noted that bracket 15' pivots about anaxis generally parallel to the waterline through'tpins 2i *hyhinge 24; 'mits brackets! 51t0 be pulled upiout of the water whi'lethe beaching gear is afloat andiattach it to operated by handle 43.

serves two purposes. If :it is necessary to change levers i 8. One end of the beaching gear will then be attached to the hull by bracket l5, while the other end is floating substantially normal to the side of the hull. It is then necessary to pivot the beaching gear attaching bracket downwardly through the water, under the hull of the ship and align pins I2 with the holes in the chine. Due to 7 the fact that bracket I5 is pivoted at IE on support l4, it is necessary tolock bracket 7| 5'with respect to M so that when the beaching gear is pushed underwater, the arc of travel will be fixed due to 'the' fixed relationship between portion I and gear on the two tires.

bracket l5, This is accomplished by tapered pin 1 2 5 which aligns and holds portion 26 on which bracket l5 pivots, with respect to support l4. When pins (2 are ,aligned'with the holesoin the chine, lever 21 operates linkage 28 so that the telescopic'motion of members .andr8 will'pull pins l2 upwardly into engagement with the holes in the chine which will then be seated on pad ll.

maintain pins I2 in the holes in the chine. 7

From the above description, it will be seen that alongside the hull and by'mean's'of handle 23, bracket I5 willbe attached to levers 18. Pin 25 is inserted in the aligned holes in members 26 and 14 so that the only relative motion of the beaching gear with respect to the hull of'the ship will be about a fixed axis so that the weight of one or two men standing on the-float will cause the beaching gear to sink-under the ship and align pins l2 with holes in the chine. Lever 21 is then operated'to draw portion 8 and seat It) upwardly to engage'the bottom of the hull. a a

The pivoting of bracket l5 with respect to the top of the beaching gear in two directions is necessary because it is more than likely that the beaching gear will rock either gently or violently,

depending upon the water and without this .pivoting in two directions, 'it'wouldbe practically impossible to align levers l8 inslots I! in bracket I5; 'Once they are aligned and pins 2| driven home, the beaching gear can be restrained against further rocking motion by means of pin 25. i 4 Tank 30 is a 'float attached to casting 9 and.

portion 8. Handles 3| are mounted onthe float to facilitate handling the float separate or when attached to the beaching gear when in the water.

'Itshould be understood that the beaching gear can be used with or without float tanks 30.

Casters 32 form-a third point of support so that V the beaching gear may be moved'about when 0 the ground separate from the ship.

' Hydraulic cylinder 33 is mounted on ,the pedestal 3 to transmit fluid pressure to brakes 34 on the pneumatic-tired wheels of the beaching gear. 0 This hydraulic cylinder is operated by lever the flying boat. When it is necessary to maneuver the ship on the ground or in and out of a hanger, it is often desirable or necessary due to lack of space, to move the ship side ways. When beaching gear of the type herein described is employed to support a ship of 170,000 pounds, the

load on the tires is such that even with the pivoting of pedestal 3, the drag on the tiresaround the pivot point is considerable and damage to the tire will result if an attempt'is made to swivel the For this reason the jack 41 plays an important part. It can be lowered into contact with the ground and the wheels raised sufliciently, so that the tires will be clear got the ground, or in other words, the weight of the ship canbe shifted from the tires to the 7 hydraulic jack and the jackswiveled to any an ,Latch 29 holds lever 21 in the upward position to V .the beaching gear may be floated into position gular position. By turning valve 44, the pressure is released and the wheels are again let down in contact with the ground for maneuvering the ship. 1 i v Bolt'45serves to lock the pedestal 3 withrespect to the supporting bracket in any position. A section through the portion of the beaching gear pivot is illustrated in Figure 5. Roller bearings 46 and central pivot 41 afford the swiveling connection between portions I0 and B. Grease members 35, the outer section of which 36 ex-' A tends beyond-the wheel and is pivoted at 39 for stowing. The brake cylinder may be actuated by a man standing off the side of the beaching gear.

.Rack 31 and 'pawl 38 act as a locking means for the handling of the hydraulic cylinder;

At the lower portion of pedestal 3 there is incorporated an inverted hydraulic jack 40 having foot 4| adapted'to be extended and retracted by means of hydraulic pressure from cylinder. 42 This hydraulic jack a tire on the beaching gear when in position on aboat hull, the built-in jack facilitates the "changing of the tire in the conventional manner,

but a more important'purpose is served by this built-in jack as a swiveling device in handling is supplied through fitting 43 to passages 49, 50 and 5| to lubricate the sleeve bearings 52 and '53 and also fill the space 54 between members 5 and I0 out to the labyrinth seal 55.: This grease packing protects bearings '46, 52 and 53 when the beaching gear is submerged. r

- Ring 56 aifords a connection for a tow line. Hole 51- extends into the pedestal '3 so that a bar or lever may be inserted to aid in swiveling the'beaching gear pedestal 3 when supported on the hydraulic jack.

While any number of beaching gear units herein described, may be; employed in beaching 'a craft, it is usual in'handlin'g a flying boat to secure one on each side of the hull slightly fora frame, a portion of said framebeing-removably secured to said hull, a pair of 'wheels'secured to another portion of said frame,said wheel mounting portion being pivoted ;to said portion secured to the hullabout a substantially vertical axis,--a

jack member mounted on said frame intermedi ate said wheels substantially coaxial with said :pivot point, power means to extend said jack member from said-frame'into contact with the ground whereby the load may be transferred from said wheels to said jack member for swiveling said beaching gear to permit sidewise motion of said flying boat. V r 2. A beaching gear for flying boat hulls for maneuvering said flying boat ashore comprising a supporting frame, a portion of which is removably secured to said hull, a pair of pneumatic: tired wheels secured to a portion of said frame which is pivoted to said portion beingsecured to said hull, for turning about a substantially vertical axis, a jack member mounted on said frame between said wheels substantially coaxialwith said pivot point, hydraulic power means for extending said jack member into contact with the ground to transfer the load of the flying boat from said wheels to said jack for swiveling said beaching gear to permit sidewise movement of said flying boat.

3. A beaching gear for flying boat hulls comprising a supporting frame, hinged locking means thereon to secure one end of a portion of said frame to the hull, said supporting frame having a portion formed to extend under and support the hull, a pair of pneumatictired wheels secured to a portion of said frame which is pivoted to said first portion for turning about a substantially vertical axis, an inverted hydraulic jack member mounted on said frame between said wheels substantially coaxial with said pivot point, hydraulic power means to extend said jack member into contact with the ground to raise said frame whereby the load may be transferred from said wheels to said jack for swiveling said beaching gear.

4. In a beaching gear for flying boat hulls having a supporting frame, comprising an at taching bracket, one end of which having hinged locking means thereon to secure said end to the side of the hull, said bracket having a portion formed to extend under and support the hull, pin means on said formed portion adapted to cooperate with holes in the hull, a telescopic section in said bracket whereby said formed portion may be moved relative to said hull bottom and said means to align said pins with the holes in the hull bottom.

5. A beaching gear for flying boats of the type adapted to be floated along side the hull for attachment thereto, comprising a supporting bracket adapted to be secured to the hull at two points, one end formed to support the chine of the hull, having pins thereon to engage holes in the chine, an attaching member on the other end of said bracket pivoted thereto about an axis substantially parallel to the hull of the craft, and about another axis normal to the hull, to facilitate securing said attaching member to the hull in rough water, means to lock said bracket against motion relative to said attaching member when the latter is in place, so that when said bracket is pivoted about the axis substantially parallel with the hull, said pins will be aligned with the holes in the chine.

6. A beaching gear for flying boats of the type adapted to be floated along side the hull for attachment thereto, having an attaching bracket portion adapted to be secured to the hull, means to secure said bracket portion to the boat hull comprising an attaching member pivoted for motion about an axis substantially parallel to the hull and about another axis substantially normal to the hull to facilitate attaching said bracket in rough water, and means to restrain the motion about the axis normal to the hull after the bracket has been attached.

OWEN E. TORMOLLAN, Ja. 

